The Only Life We Know
by ffscrittore
Summary: A stranger walks into a bar, looking for a man named Spike. The bar owner tells her that Spike is dead. But she's heard different, and asks the man to tell her a story in exchange for a few drinks. Buying him rounds of his own liquor, the bar owner could not refuse.
1. Prologue: The Oasis

**PROLOGUE ~ OASIS**

Magnum squinted when the stranger entered the bar. The midday sun shone in for a brief moment, revealing the alcoholic scum of Mars.

The stranger had an oversized poncho over her body and a large cowboy hat over her face. She went to the counter and ordered a shot of tequila. All the while keeping her head down.  
"Oi, you." Magnum approached her side.  
"Yeah?" She said without looking.  
"You alone?"  
She tipped her hat up, revealing bright eyes and short black hair. A small dog fell from her poncho. It barked at him once, as if to say hello.  
"Not quite."  
"That's cute." He said. Then he landed a strong, tanned elbow on the counter. He loomed over her. She didn't flinch.

"What brings you to the Oasis?"

The bartender served the shot. The stranger downed it one gulp. She didn't take salt. She didn't bite the lemon.  
"I've heard you've got news. About a man named Spike."  
Magnum leaned away a little. Watched where the lady's hands were. She seemed to be unarmed.

"I know a lot of things. What's it to ya?"  
"They say you have some info on his whereabouts. I'm willing to pay for that info."  
"Is that what they say?" Magnum laughed. He stared at her for a while, trying to figure out her agenda. Then he spoke.  
"He's dead. That's all there is to it."  
"I guess my contacts were wrong." She looked at him in challenge. Then she slammed a cash card on the counter. It was one of the latest issues. These entered credits straight into your bank account if you scanned them. "Sorry for wasting your time then."

"Hold on there lady." Magnum eyed the bill. "Buy me a round of drinks, and I'll be much obliged."  
"Deal. What'll you have then, Mr. Osiris?" She said. The dog barked like a punctuation mark.  
Magnum smiled. She knew his name, knew who he was. He raised his head and let out a laugh. The sun caught a few strands of his silver moustache.

Strangers buying him rounds of his own liquor at his own bar. No better way to make a living.

But he won't play games with this one. She's faced death and came out on top. He knew that just by looking into her eyes.  
"Well stranger. The ballad of Spike is a tragic tale indeed. Might I suggest we start from the very beginning?"


	2. Chapter 1: Rattlesnakes

p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanCold wind bit through hard leather. There were fourteen of them, fully cloaked, walking up and down the streets. In all that snow, they looked like / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe thief watched from afar. The cloaked men were going deeper into the alleys of the small town like rats in a / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe streets grew narrow. The cloaked men walked single file. This got the thief excited. He went / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGusts of white lowered visibility. He bumped into his target, apologized for his clumsiness, and then slipped right back / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe looked like a walking teddy bear with his fuzzy fur coat and dark goggles. They didn't suspect anything at / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe found a nice quiet corner and took a peek. The first find was a small satchel filled with blank plates you could print identification cards on. They were expensive, but common enough on the black market./span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe thief knew these streets. He took a shortcut but found two sentries blocking the path. He slowed down to a / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I wouldn't go back there." He said. No reply. He moved forward, but the two didn't stand aside. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Get him!" A booming voice came from behind. It probably belonged to their leader./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe command was already too late; the thief was close enough to disarm the two sentries. He knocked out the first with a clean uppercut. The second guy tried to pull a gun but was too slow. The thief had already twisted it out of his hands. Instead of firing it, he pistol whipped the guy and down he went into a / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe thief style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt was a while before he stopped hearing footsteps, another half hour before the only things he heard were the faint cries of toddlers and the occasional howl of a lonely dog. br / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe found a house with a flat rooftop and hung around its radiator steam vent to keep warm. He waited until the snow died down./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSoon, the sky began to clear. The thief reckoned that the atmosphere generator must have been fixed. Back on Earth they used to celebrate snow, for reasons even the old timers / span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanA light rain began to fall. It was time to go./span/p 


End file.
